Smoke producing device



y 1947- J. w. VAN KARNER 2,423,859

SMOKE PRODUCING DEVICE Filed Dec. 10, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet l I SILICA GEL J OSEPH W. VAN KARNER &2

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6 m2 s I 5v 4 I. 5 dv y 1947- J. w. VAN KARNER SMOKE PRODUCING DEVICE Filed Dec 10, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 We? a.

31am Jos PH w. VAN KARNBR Elm Patented July 15, 1947 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to a device for producingsmoke such as may be used as a distress signal by those lost at sea, in deserts and other places, or as a smudge pot in orchards and the like, and to such a device which may cause a stream of dense smoke of any desired color to be emitted therefrom over a substantial period of time. It will be particularly described in connection with its use whenembodied in a distress signal.

.It is well known that persons lost at sea, for example, are hard to 'find due to the vastness of the sea and the difiiculty of sighting a small boat or raft, even from searching air craft.

In accordance with my invention, a distress signal is provided which readily may form a part of the standard equipment of lifeboats, rafts, aircraft and the like, and which, in case of a disaster, may be set into operation, without the aid of tools or any special equipment, and caused to emit a stream of smoke which will rise to a substantial height.

In order that the signal cannot be injured or rendered inoperative by contact with water, it comprises a water-tight container having a cover over the means for setting it into operation, which makes a water-tight connection with the container. Also, in order that it will notbe rendered inoperative by being thrown overboard, means are provided for maintaining it in an upright position so that water will notenter the aperture through which the smoke is being emitted.

More specifically, my invention includes a distress signal in the form of a water-tight container having a-charge of smoke-producing material in the bottom, a smoke-accumulating chamber in the top, and delayed-action means for .igniting the smoke-producing material, which maybe set into operation by one Who has had no previous experience with such devices.

The invention will be further described in connection with the accompanying drawings, where the invention is shown embodied in a distress signal, but it isto be understood that such further illustration and description is by way of exemplification, and that the invention is not limited to the particular details of the'device i1- lustrated, except as the same may be defined in thesubjoined claims, nor its embodiment in a distress signal.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view of a distress signal embodying my invention in operation, after having been tossed into the sea;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through -a distress signal embodying my invention;

Fig.3 is an enlarged View of that portion of the distress signal shown in Fig. 2 which includes the ignition means, and

Fig. 4 is a plan View with the closure cap'removed.

Referring to'the drawingspthe distress signal comprises a container having side walls I, a bottom 2, and top 3. The bottom and top may be crimped-sealed' or otherwise secured to the side walls to provide a Water-tight receptacle. The container maybe formed of tin plate, gal vanized iron, bronze, copper, plastic or other material, but preferablyof a material which will remain in salt water for an appreciable length of time without being adversely affected. The container may be round, square, or any other shape, but to facilitate manufacture preferably is maderound. When made of tin-plate, or other metal, it may be corrugated as at 4,'to'strengthen it.

The lower portion of 'the'container to about of the height thereof, is filled with a charge of suitable smoke-producing material 5, which is of such composition as to be readily ignited, and, on burning, to produce a dense smoke of the desired color. The exact composition of the smoke-producing materialforms nopart'of the present invention. It'may comprise amiX- ture of approximately 20% dextrose, 20% potassium chlorate, and-60% oil-orange color such as is disclosed in my application Serial No. 514,654, filed December 17, 1943, or any one of a large number of compositions for producing smoke which are known.

A continuous layer of kraftboard, chip board, or other relatively non-inflammable, heat-insulating, material ,6 is placed between the side walls and thebottom of the container, and the smoke-producing charge "5 'to protect the -container from the heat "of the'burning charge of smoke-producing material. The heat-insulating material 6 also may be moisture-absorbent, but, as will be hereinafter pointedout, other *means are provided within the container which are more effective in absorbing -moistu.re.

-A tube 1 of perforated-metalorthe like is inserted in the smoke-producing charge, preferably in the centenand extends vertically" for the entire length thereof. The tube facilitatesthe circulation of air within, and better burning of the smoke-producing material, and also acts as an expansion chamber when gases form 'in the upper portion or the'container, as will hereinafter be explained. A cover 8 of nitrocellulose or other readily inflammable material, and a perforated supporting plate 9 of metal or the like, extend entirely across the top of the smoke-producing charge and the upper edges of the layer of insulating and absorbent material 6. A ferrule or tube ll of material similar to the material of layer 6 tightly fits between the top 3 and the peripheral edge of the partition plate 9, and, with the partition plate 9 and cover sheet 8, firmly maintains the smoke-producing charge in its end of the container, regardless of the angular position which the container may assume. The ferrule or tube II also protects the upper portion of the container and absorbs any water of condensation which otherwise might form on the inside thereof above the partition plate 9 and run down into the charge of smoke-producing material.

The top of the container has an upward extension l2, the top of which is depressed. and supports means for causing ignition of the charge of smoke-producing material.

At one side the top of the extension I2 is further depressed to provide a well I3 for receiving a support M for the ignition or firing mechanism. The support l4 comprises an annular portion l5 which extends through the bottom of the well and an outwardly extending flange I5 which overlies and rests upon the bottom of the well. A nut threaded onto the annular portion l5 and against the bottom of the well I3, firmly clamps the support in place and forms a watertight connection between the bottom of the well l3 and the support I4. The interior of the annular portion I5 is threaded to receive a primercarrying member l8 threaded thereinto from the outside, and a closure member l9 threaded into the inner end thereof. A gasket 2| of some material which is not attacked by seawater, such as rubber which inherently is, or has been treated so that it is not attacked by salt water, is interposed between an outwardly extending flange 20 of the primer-carrying member l3 and the flange 6 of the support I l, so that when the primer-carrying member is tightly screwed in place, water cannot enter the container through the support M.

A friction primer 22 in the form of a coil of brass wire, has its upper end extending through a small opening in the closure member l3 and attached to the lower end of a short length of flexible cord 23, which has its other end extending through a small opening in the bottom of a hollow plug member 24 threaded into an opening in the center of the primer-carrying member |8. The cord is retained in the plug 24 by knotting it, the knot being too large to pass through the opening in the bottom thereof.

The outer periphery of the supporting member I4 is provided with a groove 25. A fuse-supporting member 26 of relatively rigid wire has an upper ring portion 21 positioned in the groove 25, and a lower ring portion 28 which embraces a fuse holder 29 into which the upper end of a delayed-action fuse 3| is secured. Thus, the supporting member 26 supports the fuse 3| from the member I4 and maintains it in proper position with respect to the friction primer coil 22 and support 4.

The primer coil 22 is of such diameter as to bear frictionally against the inside of the fuse holder 29. The upper portion of the fuse holder 29 is coated with a suitable ignitable phosphorus composition 30, so that when the primer coil 22 is withdrawn, the friction thereof with the phosphorus coating will ignite the latter, which, in turn, will ignite the upper end of the delayedaction fuse 3 To ensure continuous contact of the friction primer coil with the phosphoruscoated, inner portion of the fuse holder 29, the upper end of the latter is pinched together as shown in Fig. 3.

Although the fuse igniting means has been described in detail, it forms no part of the invention claimed herein, as it is claimed in my application Serial No. 513,797 filed December 10, 1943, now Patent No. 2,396,064 and as far as the invention claimed herein is concerned, other means may be provided for igniting the delayed action fuse.

The upper end of the delayed-action fuse 3| is enclosed by a ferrule 35 which has prongs 3| struck from the side thereof, which bite into the inner side wall of the fuse holder 23 and prevent Withdrawal of the fuse from the fuse holder 29. The upper end of the ferrule is bent over the end of the fuse as shown in Fig. 3, to facilitate its insertion into the fuse holder.

The delayed-action fuse 3| protrudes from the lower end of the fuse holder 23 a suitable distance, and is connected by a fuse-junction cover 32 to a safety fuse 33 which extends through the perforated partition plate- 9 and the inflammable cover 3, and is embedded in, or lapped upon the top of the charge of smoke-producing material 5 and held in contact therewith by the inflammable cover 8 and perforated partition plate 9.

The depressed top of the extension l2, at th side opposite thatwhere the primer support is secured, is provided with a smoke-emission opening 34, which normally is closed with a paster or the like 35 of some inflammable material which is not attacked by salt water, such as a piece of cellulose tape. The paster 35 may be red to indicate that it is not to be tampered with. A piece of safety fuse 36 is secured to the underside of the paster 35, in the opening 34, by a strip of tape 37!. The safety fuse 36 is of sufficient length that both ends extend downwardly to and lie upon the partition plate 9, so that it may be ignited by the burning of the charge of smoke-producing material 5.

The delayed-action fuse 3| and the safety fuses 33 and 36 preferably are standard types of fuses which have been approved by the United States Navy or other suitable Government agency.

The primer-carrying member l8 has a ring 38 secured to the outer end thereof. The ring 33 normally lies in the depression in the top of the extension l2, and is covered by a closure cap 39 threaded onto the extension. Suitable gaskets 4D and 4|, which are of a material similar to the material of the gasket 2|, may be interposed between the top of the extension l2 and the closure cap 39, and between the bottom flange 42 of the closure cap and the top of the container, to form a water-tight seal,

One side of the container is weighted by lead or the like 43, so as to cause the container to assume the angular position indicated in Fig. 1 when it is tossed into water. The edge of the bottom of the insulating and absorbent layer 3 may be cut out at one side to provide a space into which the molten lead may be poured, or the layer of insulating and absorbent material may extend entirely across the bottom and the lead poured into one corner of the receptacle in the form of a fillet.

The weighting of the container at one side by the lead 33 not only causes the container to -assume the angular position indicated in Fig.1 1,:but :also -pro'd-uces .an unbalanced :co-ndition which causes the: container to turn :or s i about the edge whichis weighted asea center, so that the smoke which is-emitted throughtthe opening '32 the-like, at. the inside cf-the-to-pof thecontainer reduces suchs-Weating, but in order to more-effectively maintain the smoke-producing charge in a dry, ignitable position, I place in the upper portion of the container, on top of the partition 9, a charge M of some hygroscopic material such as silica-gel, calcium chloride, or the like. The charge of hygroscopic material may be placed loosely in the top of the partition 9, but preferably is enclosed in an open-mesh bag, as shown in Fig. 2. While various hygroscopic materials are effective in absorbing moisture and maintaining the charge of smoke-producing material in a dry. ignitable condition, I prefer to use silica-gel as it appears to cause the smoke emitted from the container to cling together and maintain itself in a more dense column.

When it becomes necessary to use the signal, the closure cap 39 is unscrewed to give access to the pull ring 38 of the primer-carrying member 58. The primer-carrying member is then unscrewed from the support Hi, after which the ring 38 is given a quick pull which causes the primer coil 22 to move frictionally in contact with the coating of ignitable phosphorus composition on the inside of the fuse holder, with the result that the phosphorus composition is ignited and, in turn, ignites the delayed-action fuse 3!. The container is then tossed into the water, and after a short period of time the fuse 3| will have burned to such an extent that it ignites the safety fuse 33. The safety fuse, i a short period of time, ignites the charge 5 of the smoke-producing material. The smoke-producing material begins to burn and to fill the upper portion of the container with smoke. Promptly upon ignition of the charge of smoke-producing material, the safety fuse 35 is ignited and burns until the upper portion thereof ignites the paster 35 of inflammable material. By that time, an appreciable gas pressure has developed in the upper portion of the container, so that even if the safety fuse 36 should not ignite the paster 35, the gas pressure would blow it off so that the smoke would be discharged through the opening 34.

The perforated tube 1 permits circulation of air in the charge of smoke-producing material, and facilitates its burning. The nature of the smoke-producing material and the amount of it in the container is such that the signal will emit a stream of dense smoke of the desired color for a length of time for the continuous stream thereof to rise to a height such that it will be visible for many miles.

From the foregoing description it will be understood that the present invention provides a distress signal or other smoke-producing device, which will be maintained in usable condition regardless of atmospheric conditions and whether or not it should become immersed in Water. Also, the distress signal is one which readily may be set into operation without any special tools or equip- 6 ment,and bypersons who previously have had no experience with suchdevices.

:What [claim is:

:1. A .1smokeproducing :device comprising a sealed container, a charge of smoke-producing material in'thecontainer, a smoke-accumulating space within the container, means within the container forignitingthe charge of smoke-producing material, means operable from without thecontainerfor settingfithe ignition means into operation, Weighting means at one edge of one end of the container for causing the container to set at an angular position when placed in water, the other end of the container having an opening through which smoke is adapted to pass, said opening being at-theside of thenontainer oppositefthe side having the weighting means, and

:meansmormall closingsaid opening.

2. A smoke-producing device comprising a sealed container, 2. charge of smoke-producing material in the container, a smoke-accumulating space within the container, a layer of relatively non-inflammable, heat-insulating, moisture-absorbent material interposed between the charge of smoke-producing material and the container and in contact with the charge of smoke-producing material and the container, means within the container for igniting the charge of smoke-producing material, means operable from without the container for setting said ignition means into operation, said container having an opening through which smoke is adapted to pass, and means normally closing said opening.

3. A smoke-producing device comprising a sealed container, a charge of smoke-producing material in the container, means for igniting the charge of smoke-producing material, a smokeaccumulating space within the container, 9. layer of relatively non-inflammable, moisture-absorbent material interposed between the charge of smoke-producing material and the container, a layer of inflammable sheet material covering the charge of smoke-producing material, a relatively non-inflammable perforated partition plate on top of the inflammable covering material, the covering material and the perforated partition plate extending entirely across the charge of smoke-producing material and having their edges overlying the edges of the layer of relatively noninflammable, moisture-absorbent material, and a ferrule of relatively non-inflammable, moistureabsorbent material next to the container and extending substantially the entire distance from the partition plate to the top of the container and holding the covering material and partition plate against the charge of the smoke-producing material.

4. A smoke-producing device comprising a container, a charge of smoke-producing material in one end of the container, a smoke-accumulating space in the other end of the container, 2. layer of relatively non-inflammable, heat-insulating material interposed between the charge of smokeproducing material and the container, the charge of smoke-producing material having a central longitudinal opening to facilitate burning thereof, a cover of inflammable material, a perforated partition plate, the cover of inflammable material and the perforated partition plate extending entirely across the top of the chargeforming material and having their peripheries overlying the layer of heat-insulating material, a ferrule of relatively non-inflammable, heatinsulating material next to the container and extending substantially the entire distance from the partition plate to the top of the container, 2. delayed-action fuse Within the smoke-accumulating space, a safety fuse connected to said delayed-action fuse and having a portion thereof in contact with the charge of smoke-producing material, means operable from without the container for igniting the safety fuse, the top of the container having an opening therein, and means normally closing said opening.

JOSEPH W. VAN KARN'ER.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Shively Apr. 16, 1929 Number Number Number Name Date Moore et a1 Nov. 25, 1941 Nichols Mar. 24, 1936 Lipschutz June 24, 1941 DAdrian June 13, 1933 Cronstedt Mar. 31, 1943 Le Comte Sept. 7, 1943 Niditch Feb. 14, 1911 Oglesby Feb. 14, 1928 Spring Sept, 20, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Italy Feb. 8, 1930 Germany Sept. 26, 1930 

